The present invention relates to a switching device for opening and closing an electrical path, especially a high-frequency switch able to operate equally well with DC low, medium or high-frequency signals.
Switching devices are already known for opening and closing an electrical line, in which devices a contact piece, in the form of a strip, is supported by an operating member which can move in terms of translation between a position in which said contact piece rests against two contact terminals, closing the electrical path, and a position in which it is separated from said contact terminals, opening the electrical path.
During its translational movements, the contact piece is guided by rods along which it slides, so as to ensure that said contact piece is correctly applied against the contact terminals.
Such guidance does, however, present the drawback that friction exerted between the contact piece and its guide rods produces dust which can become deposited on the electrical contact surfaces and can, over time, impair the reliability of the switching device.
Document DE-A-2,417,280 discloses a switch for a key of an electric typewriter keyboard, in which the operating member bearing the contact piece is guided by two parallel flexible strips which are set into a fixed support.
In such a switch, friction is avoided.
There is, however, the problem that the support for the two flexible strips has to be offset relative to the axis of movement of the operating member, owing to the length of the strips which has to be sufficient for these to exhibit the required elasticity.
Another problem inherent to this known switch arises out of the fact that the flexible strips, which form a parallelogram, guide the operating member not in a strictly axial direction, but in a circular translational movement.
For this reason, bringing the contact piece into contact with the contact terminal is accompanied by a slight amount of slippage which may impair the quality of the electrical contact.
The present invention aims especially to solve these problems.